Wednesday September 28, 2011

One of my favorite passages that I have memorized in the old testament comes from Jeremiah 17 which deals with those who are cursed and those who are blessed. The Lord set up a definition for us to evaluate our life by and to see if we are in the cursed ranks or in the blessed ranks. He says, “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord. That person will be like a bush in the wastelands; they will not see prosperity when it comes. They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. God says that there are three things that the cursed do. The first thing is that they trust in man and look to man for answers rather than to the Lord. They secondly look to the strength of man to solve problems and their heart turns away from the Lord. I think it is interesting to note that the cursed will live in the desert and will NOT see when prosperity comes. They at times will be prosperous, but they will not see it. They will feel alone and isolated from the world.

God contrasts those who are cursed with those who are blessed when He continues, “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” (Jeremiah 17:5-8 NIV). Individuals who are blessed are ones that trust in the Lord and have confidence in God’s ability to direct their lives. I like the illustration of a tree planted by streams of water (God’s word) which give a picture of someone who is strong, not by their own strength, but by sending their roots deep into the word of God. There will be times of trials and drought as it says, but even in the drought times there will be green leaves and fruit will be produced.

On this journey, it is sometimes beneficial to see whether or not we are experiencing the effects of a cursed life or a blessed life. The consequences are evident based on the choices we make in placing our root system.